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The management of My Son Sanctuary has delayed a plan to increase entrance fees following complaints from tourism agencies that send tourists to the UNESCO heritage site in central Vietnam.

Huynh Tan Lap, who manages the site, said the popular tourist destination with a cluster of 4th century Hindu temples needs more money to improve infrastructure and services.

“We will increase ticket prices in September, two months later than previously planned,” he said.

My Son in Duy Xuyen District is some 40 kilometers from Hoi An, an old town and another favorite place in Quang Nam Province and nearly 70 kilometers southwest of Da Nang.

Last month, the management of My Son announced that it would increase entrance fees by up to 70 percent from July. Accordingly, the fees would go from VND100,000 (US$4.60) to VND150,000 for foreigners, and from VND60,000 to VND100,000 for locals.

Many tourism agencies have complained about the short notice, arguing that such a hike is unreasonable considering the unimproved services.

Lap said his team is carrying out a VND20 billion project to improve relevant services, including preserving a church, building roads, ticket booths, toilets, buying electric vehicles and hiring Cham music performers.

My Son welcomed 132,000 tourists in the first half of this year, a 4.8 percent increase over last year.

The site, which was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999, is expected to attract 250,000 tourists this year.